Harness Racing Training: Week 1 & 2 report

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Crosshill Pacers

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We're getting to the end of Week 2 of Missile's training so I thought I'd provide an update. I'll include a round-up of Week 1 also as my first post focussed on introducing him (and me) and it wasn't overly concise.

Week 1 (w/c 3rd March)

Missile was clipped at the end of the previous week and shod on the Saturday (normal shoes at this stage). The schedule is for him to be jogged for 15 minutes in an open bridle with no hopples and no overcheck, going the opposite direction on alternate days (i.e. on the left rein Monday, right rein Tuesday etc.), for six days out of seven with one day rest. He also gets daily turnout with the three others in training.

OH (aka J) decided to take things back to basics, as Missile was broken and trained elsewhere before coming to us so J wanted to establish what Missile knows/doesn't knowand also set some ground rules. First thing on the agenda was walking around the track; Missile basically just wanted to go straight away, so J made him walk two lapsbefore jogging. Walking is good for chilling them out but both of us believe every horse should understand the different gaits and listen to the appropriate commands for each.

Once he started jogging J noticed that he was skipping between trotting and pacing, but as his work at home will always be without hopples he believes that in time he willstick to trotting. The next lesson he had to learn was stopping for J to jump off the cart as I explained in my introductory thread, J likes to 'dismount' at the entrance/exitto the track and long rein the horses up the yard to the cross ties. Missile didn't really understand the concept of stopping and waiting on day one, but by day two he had grasped it and waited patiently until asked to walk on.

Sunday was his day off.

Week 2

Week 2 is the same format as Week 1 - 15 minutes jogging (alternate directions on alternate days). Still in the open bridle with no hopples and no overcheck. The reasoning behind this is so that the horses are as calm and relaxed as can be at home. When the workouts begin (at the racetrack, Week 9) Missile will be fully tacked up, including fullblinkers, overcheck and hopples, and the same at the races. He will then start to realise that when he's blinkered and fully yoked up, he's at his real work and he needs to be switched on. It's a technique that has worked previously with J's horses; calm at home, revved up at the races.

J came down to stay over the weekend and when he returned on Monday he took Missile out for his 15 minute jog. The report I had stated that he was feeling full of himself, which as far as we're both concerned is a good thing - I want him to enjoy his work. He's been jogged every day this week, including his two laps of walking beforehand and one lap of walking after, and will either have Saturday or Sunday off. Next week the work steps up a little.

A photo from the driving seat from this morning:

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Over and out,

Sarah & the (slightly less) grumpy pony :)
 
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dianchi said:
Good to see a different type of report up!

Sorry to sound silly what are hopples?
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Hopples (or hobbles depending which part of the country you're from) are straps which go around a pacer's legs to help them keep in their gait at speed. A handful of horses have raced in the past without them, but the majority race with them. They don't 'force' the horse to pace as it's a natural gait, but some of these horses are travelling at upwards of 30mph so the hopples help to keep them pacing and discourage galloping. It's something that contributes to the difficulty riders face when trying to retrain pacers to canter!
 
Crosshill Pacers said:
Hopples (or hobbles depending which part of the country you're from) are straps which go around a pacer's legs to help them keep in their gait at speed. A handful of horses have raced in the past without them, but the majority race with them. They don't 'force' the horse to pace as it's a natural gait, but some of these horses are travelling at upwards of 30mph so the hopples help to keep them pacing and discourage galloping. It's something that contributes to the difficulty riders face when trying to retrain pacers to canter!
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I find your reports really interesting - I don't know anything about harness racing but it's great to hear about a different sport.

You said in your report that he skips between trotting and pacing, do you want him to train in trot and just pace in a race or do you want him to pace all the time? Which is best?

Thanks and please do keep posting updates :-)
 
Vallin - that link is fab, I could have done with that last year when I was writing my blog and when we had the Pony Club visit the yard! That covers everything really, I'll have to bookmark that for future use. Thanks for posting it :)

Matafleur - tbh we just want him to do whatever he's most comfortable doing. In my experience most pacers will trot when jogging slowly and without hopples, but a lot of people train in full harness so they don't get a chance to trot. If Missile wants to pace free legged then he can, but I suspect once he settles into his routine he'll trot. When I move up in May I'll be incorporating ridden work into his training to I'll be able to find out which gait he favours, although my position will undoubtedly influence that (it does with my retired mare). They know how to pace, and we know they know that, so I don't really feel that they need to 'practice' doing it. All we want to improve is fitness; Missile developed his gait when he was broken so I don't need to train him to pace. Whatever he's happiest doing is what I'm happiest with him doing!

Laafet - thank you. I was a touch nervous about embarking upon this because I know it's a sport with a bad public image but it's not actually what people think it is! I'm delighted I'm getting a positive response :)
 
I really enjoyed reading both this one & your last report. So interesting to hear about a different sport.
You sound like very sympathetic trainers :)
 
Loll- he's happier and happier every day. I'm looking forward to jogging him myself :)

Glamourpuss - thank you. I don't expect we're the only people who train like this, J has taken the basic principles from the big yards and just added his own personal touch. He insists his horses should have manners so that if they're passed on to other trainers they'll be easy to do/not show him up. Young horses are like a blank canvas; we can turn them into well-rounded individuals with good manners and a positive attitude towards their work. Missile will probably be the only aged horse we buy so we can start from scratch with the rest.

J1ffy - glad you're enjoying :)
 
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